Health insurance companies expect additional contributions

Additional contributions for all 50 million contributors?

06/19/2014

From next year, the 50 million members of the statutory health insurance companies are expected to pay additional contributions. According to the news agency „dpa“ come the top association of health insurance companies. Accordingly, the reserves of the coffers would already fall this year from 30.1 to 26.7 billion euros, due to lower subsidies from the federal government and the premium payment of some funds.

Reserves already fall by 3.4 billion euros this year
Do the sinking reserves of the health insurance companies have to be compensated in the future by the contributors? According to the top association of health insurance companies obviously yes. As the „dpa“ reports, it is excluded for the chairman of the top federation of the health insurance companies Doris Pfeiffer that the cash would do without a surcharge. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the reserves would decline this year by 3.4 billion euros. This was mainly due to a smaller federal subsidy and the premiums paid by some funds to their members. A development with far-reaching consequences, because according to Doris Pfeiffer almost two-thirds of the contributors are insured with health insurances whose monthly expenditures already exceed the reserves and resources.

„With a contribution reduction in a larger style is unlikely“
As the dpa further reports, Pfeiffer had been skeptical of the prognosis of Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU), after which could be relieved in the next year 20 million insured. The background: Due to the black-red health care reform, although the contribution rate in 2015 falls from 15.5 to 14.6 percent - the insurance companies are free, as a percentage of income-related additional contributions to collect. Pfeiffer could not confirm the number of Gröhe, instead, in their view, with a contribution reduction on a larger scale is unlikely. Since the additional contributions were initially expected to be around 0.9 per cent and thus about the same amount as the contribution reduction, this is almost balanced - without the contributor thus receiving an advantage.

Doctors hinder the development of the corresponding IT infrastructure for electronic health cards
According to the chairman of the umbrella organization, the majority of the insurers would consider the premium as high as possible in order to avoid a further increase in the following year. In addition, further increases in spending by the health insurance companies are to be expected, while the revenues would probably decrease in the opinion of the expert. Also on the topic „electronic health card“ is criticized by the Kassenverband loud, because these have despite cost of about 900 million euros so far brought no added value. The doctors are responsible for this situation, as they would hinder the development of the corresponding IT infrastructure, the association continued. Accordingly, the legislator is required to provide sanctions for such cases as well as a timetable for implementation. On the side of politics apparently a conceivable plan: „I can only warn everyone against a blockade“, so the CDU health politician Jens Spahn opposite the dpa.